MEDIA

Mobile and social commerce continue to flourish in Thailand

Although Thailand has only the fourth largest population and the fourth highest Internet penetration rate in Southeast Asia, the country is forecasted to maintain the rank of the second largest B2C E-Commerce market among the region’s other major economies through 2021, behind Indonesia only. The stable growth is driven by the expanding number of digital buyers and their increasing average online spending. Technology adoption and increased mobile and social commerce are the main trends helping to further foster online retail growth.

Mobile commerce in Thailand is strong due to the robust mobile Internet penetration rate, the highest in Southeast Asia. Close to hundred percent of Internet users access the Internet via their smartphones. Furthermore, the mobile share of traffic to E-Commerce websites is also very high, and online shopping is among the top ten activities performed via smartphones. Although the conversion rate via mobile devices and average order value in Thailand are still lower than via desktop, by 2021, the share of retail E-Commerce sales generated via mobile is projected to outstrip the share of desktop.

Another major trends influencing Thailand’s E-Commerce growth is social commerce with one of the highest penetration rates in the world. Social networks became a fast-growing online shopping channel with three-quarters of social network users making regular purchases via social commerce websites. Facebook and Instagram, the leading social E-Commerce platforms, are twice as popular as online retailer’s websites for ordering low-value items. Moreover, Facebook ads are the most popular way for discovering conventional E-Commerce websites.